dance is a messy business

The first and only time I met Meg Stuart was at a workshop in New York City in November 2001. I was floored by the clarity of her thinking and improvisation practices, and loved what seemed to become available to the people in the group through her provocations.

Dance is a messy business because our bodies and movement are influenced and sometimes contaminated, even by the quality of our daily life, emotions, memories, and experiences. I often describe the body as a container that receives and transmits signals, energy, and identities. Movement is one way of filtering and processing the accumulated input. There now seems to be a shift in the field, a renewed interest in physicality, movement research, dance vocabulary, and its origins. I find this exciting.

And this:

…when I collaborate with someone, it’s not to connect — it’s a rupture; I’m trying to disrupt flow in movement. I’m also disrupting my process and that keeps it vital.